Hydraulic jet propulsion for ships



Dec. 19, 1950 J. F. HEDDEN 2,534,817

HYDRAULIC JET PROPULSION FOR SHIPS Filed March 2, 1946 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Dec 19, 1950 J. F. HEDDEN 2,534,817

HYDRAULIC JET PROPULSION FOR SHIPS Filed March 2, 1946 2 Sheets- Sheet 2 a it a 7 a4 M 5/ II 30 A '3 INVENTOR J om 'F. Hznn EN M IW Patented Dec. 19, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 1 Claim.

This invention relates to ship propelling means and in particular to one using jet propulsion.

A particular object of the invention is to eliminate the necessity of employing one or more propeller shafts and auxiliary propeller equipment that is necessary in the propulsion of a vessel by the use of the usual propelling screw.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a jet propelling mechanism which makes use of the hydraulic pressure of water that is taken in at the fore part of the vessel and passes longitudinally through the vessel to be accelerated at different stages by the use of turbines or other pumping means and to be discharged aft to force the vessel through the water efliciently.

Other objects of the invention include the use of a concentrating member at the discharge end of the water passages that is so formed that the pressure of the water passing therethrough will result in a discharged jet of increased velocity; to provide a simplified structure that may be built into vessels in present use or that may be made a part of newly constructed ships; to provide control means whereby the concentrating member may be cut off wholly or partly from the flow of water under pressure so that the speed of the vessel can be controlled; and to provide other auxiliary means for controlling the movement of the vessel in steering operations to provide increased manoeuverability.

For further comprehension of the invention, and of the objects and advantages thereof, reference will be had to the following description and accompanying drawings, and to the appended claim in which the various novel features of the invention are more particularly set forth,

In the accompanying drawing forming a material part of this disclosure:

Fig. l is a view in longitudinal section showing the arrangement of the water passages and the operating parts thereof as they would appear in a ship.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the vessel illustrating the location of the passages or tubes at the sides thereof.

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section taken through a part of a tube showing the mounting therein of a driving turbine wheel.

Fig. 4 is a section on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3 showing the relative arrangement of the parts.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged view in longitudinal section taken through the concentrating member and showing the shape of the passages therein.

Fig. 6 is a view in cross section taken through a propulsion tube looking toward the accelerator tube.

2 Fig. 7 is a section taken on the line 1-1 of Fig, 6.

Fig. 8 is a side view of the aft end of a ship, a part of the hull wall thereof being broken away to disclose a modified form of mounting for the concentrating or accelerating tubes. Fig. 9 is a section taken substantially on th line 9-9 of Fig. 8 showing the operating means and relative arrangement of the concentrating tubes.

Fig. 10 is a view similar to Fig. 6 showing a modified form of the invention in its application to the concentrating tube.

Fig. 11 is a section on the line Ii-H of Fig. 10 showing the arrangement of the parts.

Referring to the drawings in detail, Ill indicates a vessel in the opposite sides of the hull I I of which are mounted the parallel propulsion tubes [2. Each of the tubes and their associated parts are identical and a description of one will suflice. The tube I2 may be made of suitable pressure resistant pipe sections of a diameter depending upon the draft of the vessel and the size and displacement thereof.

The forward end of the tube [2 is suitably connected to the face plates of the prow of the ship and is closed by a grid or screen It to prevent the entry of foreign matter to the tube. Near the forward end of the tube as well as near the discharge end thereof, gate valves l4 are interposed in the tube structure whereby the opposite ends of the tube may be blocked and rendered water proof so that repairs to the parts of the ship may be made without flooding the hold.

At spaced points through the length of the tube E2; turbines or 'water wheels l5 are arranged within suitable housings i6 and mounted on the shafts I! driven from motors I8 the water wheels presenting the usual blades l3 which operate not only to suck the water into the forward ends of the tube l2 but to force it rearwardly. The number of turbines necessary depends upon the size of the ship and it is believed that in general these turbines will be placed at the center of the pipes and adjacent the forward and rearward ends thereof. The water drawn into the pipe and propelled rearwardly by the turbine blades i8 is transmitted under high pressure to a concentrating member I9.

This concentrating member may be cast to provide a series of bores 29, the forward or feed ends thereof being flared as at 2| so that the streams of water divided for passage through the tubes 20 or bores will be accelerated to jet speed for discharge from the aft end of the vessel to afford the necessary driving power. If desired, the concentrating member 20 may be formed by brazing or soldering individual tubes within a sleeve, in which instance the tubes will be flared at the feed end of the sleeve.

In order that the concentrating member 20 may be secured to the rear end of the pipe [2, I provide a threaded coupling 22 which may be used to securely join the parts in rigid structure, it being evident that the discharge end 23 of the tube 20 may pass out through the hull and be fitted therein with a water tight connection.

As a modified form of the invention illustrated in Figs. 8 and 9 the aft end of the hull indicated by the numeral 30 may be formed with chambers or cavities 3| in which the concentrating members 32, constructed the same as the members 20, may be mounted for swinging movement on the pintles 33 which pass downwardly through the hull and through the members 32 andare provided at their upper. ends with a pulley 34 which is belt operated as at 35' from a common pulley 3'6, the operation of the latter of which is remotely controlled. In this instance, the forward ends of the tubes 32 may be hollow to receive the ends 31 of the propulsion tubes 38 which pass through the wall of the hull forming the cavity 3|.

In the form of the invention illustrated in Figs. and 11 an accelerating tube 49, provided with the fiues M which are tapered at the intake end 42, is arranged to be closed by a concentrically pivoted adjustable disc 43 constituting a valve which is positioned between the end of the concentrating tube 40 and the propulsion tube 44. The upper peripheral edge of the disc 43 is provided with teeth 45 so that a worm 46, engaging the latter, will operate to open and close the disc to bring the openings 41 therein into register with the dues 4|. The worm 48- is mounted on the worm shaft 48 and is actuated by pulley 49 and belt 50 to provide a remote control. In this form of the invention the valve discs 43 at the opposite sides of the ship may be operated individually or together to effect turning of the ship or adjustment of the speed of travel thereof.

Throughout the views of the ship the parts have been shown diagrammatically, it being evident that my invention may be incorporated in any known ship structure and operation of the water or turbine wheels may be by electric motor or steam engine and while the concentrating or accelerating sleeves have been shown as cast to provide fiues therein, it is to be understood that they may be made with individual tubes suitably supported in the sleeve and flared at the intake ends thereof.

While I have illustrated and described the preferred embodiments of my invention, it is to be understood that I do not limit myself to the precise constructions herein disclosed and the right is reserved to all changes and modifications coming within the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claim.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by United States Letters Patent is:

Hydraulic jet propulsion for a marine vessel including a hull and comprising pipes extending longitudinally of said vessel and substantially parallel to the sides thereof, the opposite ends of said pipes having water inlets and outlets fore and aft of the vessel, respectively, water propelling turbine wheels in said pipes intermediate the ends thereof, independent motor means for operating each of said wheels to force water rearwardly through said pipes, a water accelerating member at the outlet end of each of said pipes, said hull having a plurality of cavities formed in the aft end thereof, said cavities being flared outwardly toward said aft end, and each of said accelerating members being mounted in one of said cavities, each of said water accelerating members comprising a jet tube having a plurality of passages extending therethrough and being substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of said tube, the intake ends of said passages being flared, means for swinging said accelerating members in a horizontal plane within their respective cavities for changing the direction in which the jets discharge from said vessel, said swinging means comprising a vertically mounted pivot pin extending transversely across each of said cavities, said accelerating members being rigidly secured to their respective pins adjacent their intake ends, a pulley mounted on one end of each of said pins, a pulley shaft mounted interiorly' of said hull, a plurality of spaced pulleys fixedly mounted on one end of said shaft, each of said pulleys on said pins being disposed in a plane common to one of said spaced pulleys, belt means interconnecting each pair of pulleys in said common plane, and means for rotating saidv shaft whereby the direction of the jet discharge is varied to change the course of said vessel.

JOHN F. HEDDEN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 512,591 Walker Jan. 9, 1894 1,542,540 Zsiki June 16, 1925 1,543,026 Paxton June 23, 1925 1,720,826 Edmonds July 16, 1929 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 992 Great Britain Aug, 12, 1882 of 1882 8,623 Great Britain May 10, 1901 of 1900 8,792 Great Britain July 3, 1897 

